Social Security (Pathway to Work) Amendment Bill

Member’s Bill

64—1

Explanatory note

General policy statement

Part-time work is a proven way to transition from unemployment into full employment.

Labour wants to promote pathways into full employment for all of those supported by social security, where the persons are capable of being employed full-time. This Bill removes the disincentives to engage in part-time work by lifting the threshold of how much persons can earn before their benefit is reduced by abatement rates. The thresholds are currently $80 per week for those on Jobseeker Support and $100 per week for Sole Parent Payment and Supported Living Payment. At these levels, benefit payments are reduced after just 5-6 hours work per week on the minimum wage for jobseekers and 6-7 hours for others. Increases in the minimum wage mean that the abatement thresholds can be raised without impacting on the gap between low-income work and benefit earnings.

Clause by clause analysis

Clause 1 states the Bill’s title.

Clause 2 provides for the Bill to come into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Clause 3 says that the Act being amended is the Social Security Act 1964.

Clause 4 replaces the definitions in section 3 of Income Test 1, Income Test 2, Income Test 3, and Income Test 4.